George is 61, convinced he is dying of cancer, disappointed by his children, and realizing his mind is going -- a "spot of bother" for a very reserved British maker of playground furniture and a ticking bomb for his daughter's upcoming wedding. Haddon makes the truly gruesome wonderfully comic and reveals the humanity of his quirky characters.

Nick Naylor, lobbyist for the tobacco industry, meets with colleagues from alcohol and firearms -- "the merchants of death" -- to brag about who is most resented. But Nick, pursued by anti-smoking terrorists, the FBI, and ambitious but unscrupulous industry executives, is winning hands down and is, suddenly, very unhappy about it.

Thirty-something friends, deciding they're going soft, plan a river trip for their health and sport that goes hysterically wrong. Wildly popular when it first appeared in Victorian England, the story proves that neither men nor humor really change that much.